National Sports

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Nearly five months after he'd played a meaningful game, and on a night that was bigger than basketball, Kyle Lowry had no plans to pace himself.

SIENA, Italy — Canadian cyclist Mike Woods made his return from injury Saturday at Strade Bianche, helping teammate Alberto Bettiol to a fourth-place finish as the World Tour resumed.

TORONTO — Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots and the New York Islanders opened their best-of-five playoff series with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday in the NHL’s return following a 4 1/2-month break.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Hamilton's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 19 points, Chris Paul added 18 and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Utah Jazz 110-94 on Saturday in their first game of the restart.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Winning a World Golf Championship event easily would be the biggest victory of Brendon Todd's career. He has a recent reminder of how to best protect a lead in the final round — even if that memory is a bit painful.

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers' high-powered offence has shone all season, but as NHL elimination play began on Saturday Dominik Kubalik stole the show.

EDMONTON — It was almost 30 C as Edmonton Oilers fan Darnell Belcourt stood outside the protective bubble that surrounds Rogers Place and waited for the puck to drop in the team's opening qualifying round game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The NHL returned Saturday with new-look television broadcasts that included slick yet subtle changes, creating a fresh visual product that was noticeably different at times and downright quirky at others.

WASHINGTON — Matt Shoemaker will be the starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays in their next game, whenever that might be. Shoemaker has gone the longest since his last start among Toronto's rotation.

TORONTO — Hockey's back, and Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour couldn't be more impressed with how Carolina ushered in its return after 4 1/2 months of waiting.